Production at Amylum Nisasta AS of Tate & Lyle PLC halted on March 5, Monday, due to a disagreement between the Turkish Food and Tobacco Workers Tradeunion Tekgida-Is and the plant management in Adana, Turkey. Amylum Nisasta AS, based in Adana, southern Turkey, is a joint venture of British sweetener and starches producer Tate & Lyle Plc.

Istanbul – Production at Turkey’s Amylum Nisasta AS of Tate & Lyle PLC (TATE.L) halten on March 5, Monday, due to a disagreement between the plant management and the trade union. Amylum Nisasta AS, based in Adana, southern Turkey, is a joint venture of British sweetener and starches maker Tate & Lyle PLC.

Turkish Food and Tobacco Workers Trade Union (Tekgida-Is) said they were forced to go on a strike in the plant after six months of unsuccessful collective agreement negotiations. The plant management had called for a strike vote last month in which majority of 140 workers voted in favour of trade union.

The union officials said, organization demand came from the workers who stated that no improvement in salaries and social rights were observed in the last two years.

The London based company operates a venture in Turkey, in cereal sweeteners and starch business. There are 140 workers in the Adana Plant and the trade union has four demands from the plant management:

"Allow workers to organize in the union;
Ensure that all workers embrace the rights of collective agreement;
Improve salaries and social rights;
Take the workers of the contractor (Nurkim) under social security umbrella and ensure them to embrace the rights of collective agreement."

"We have sought an agreement with the Amylum Nisasta management until the very last moment however the managers left us with only one choice, with their uncomprimising attitute against our trade union. They asked for a strike vote meeting and suffered a majority defeat. We are now seeking international solidarity," Turkish Food and Tobacco Workers Trade Union Tekgida-Is officials said.

Tate & Lyle, operates 30 production facilities and a network of research centres throughout the Americas, Europe and South East Asia. The Company has joint ventures with Amylum Bulgaria EAD, Hungrana Kft, Alimidones Mexicanos SA, Amylum Slovakia apol sro and Amylum Nisasta AS (Turkey) in cereal sweeteners and starch business. Amylum Nisasta AS, located in Adana Industrial zone, is a corn wet mill which mainly supplies a range of products to local food and beverage customers as well as exports to Europe and the Middle East.